Ghoulification

For the first time in Fallout history, YOU will be able to play as a Ghoul. Starting the new questline “Leap of Faith” will take you into a new section of the Savage Divide. There you will meet characters who will aid in your transformation. Unlocking the new Ghoul-specific abilities Glow and Feral as well as the new Ghoul exclusive Perks.

Ghoulities (Abilities)

Feral

Becoming a Ghoul sheds the need to sate your hunger and thirst. Instead, you battle against a gnawing desire to slip back into your base nature. Abandoning all sanity you might have had.

The new Feral meter drains overtime and can only be filled back up by consuming Chems. You may not want to keep that meter 100% filled though. Your Feral status provides different bonuses and penalties depending on how full the meter is.

• Above 80%: you gain +3 Strength, +3 Endurance, +30 Max HP
• Above 60%: you gain +15 Max HP
• Above 40%: you lose -1 Endurance and -5 Max HP
• Above 20%: you lose -3 Endurance, -15 Max HP, -10 Max AP
• At 0%: you gain +200% Melee Damage, and lose -5 Endurance, -30 Max HP, -20 Max AP, -300% Hip-fire Gun Accuracy & V.A.T.S. Accuracy (a few people on the team have been known to call it Ghoulzerker or Ghoularian Mode)

Glow

As you might expect when living life as a Ghoul, radiation doesn’t have the same effect on you as it does on the smooth-skinned. You’re immune to diseases and cannot be mutated by nearby radiation. As a Ghoul, radiation makes you Glow!

This new Glow system increases your maximum health (and heals damage you’ve taken) based on the amount of radiation that you’ve accumulated. Your Glow can be tracked by the green-striped pattern on your HP bar.

Consuming tainted foods, drinks, and exploring irradiated environments all contribute to your Glow. If you hear that Pip-Boy ticking, the radiation is hitting. While you’re in Power Armor, your radiation intake can be seen on the “Rads” dial next to your health.

Outside of the max health increase Glow provides, it also contributes to Perks like the Science Monster and Jaguar Speed Perks mentioned below!

Gherks (Perks)

One benefit of living life as a Ghoul is that you’ll have access to a new suite of Perk cards that you can use in addition to the normal human cards . There are 28 Perks to choose from and 2 new Legendary perks for Ghouls.

The new Perk cards can be attained through Perk card packs or by selecting your level-up Perk. These cards will open new build opportunities and enhance the way you play.

Do note that Perk cards that revolve around Hunger, Thirst, and the Chem Resistant perk will be locked as Ghouls don’t require the benefits that those cards provide.

Let’s look at one Perk from each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. category (all Perk descriptions are at their max value):

• Strength:
• Bone Shatterer – Your melee weapon attacks have a 45% chance to cripple a limb.
• Perception:
• Eye of The Hunter – Your vision allows you to be more accurate in V.A.T.S. from a very long distance.
• Endurance:
• Glowing Gut - Irradiated food and drink grant 300% more rads.
• Charisma:
• Moral Support – When on a team, you become feral 50% slower.
• Intelligence:
• Science Monster – While you have Glow, gain 15% bonus damage for 10 seconds upon getting hit.
• Agility:
• Jaguar Speed – You now sprint 20% faster when your Glow is high (Greater than or equal to 180 Glow).
• Luck:
• Wild West Hands – 36% chance to instantly reload your entire magazine when empty.

A Ghoul’s Day Out

With all these new benefits that help you explore the wasteland; we would forgive you for thinking that life as a Ghoul was easy. No matter how well dressed you are, there are still some factions (like the Brotherhood of Steel) who won’t want to interact with you.

Playing as a Ghoul will make some factions hostile to you which will lock you out of quest lines. Luckily wearing disguises made by Jaye, a new NPC you’ll meet along the new questline, will allow you to interact with any blocked content that you may find when living life as a Ghoul.

There are a few trade-offs though:

• Sprinting will cost 50% more AP
• Feral Meter depletion rate is increased by 30
• Movement speed is slightly slower
• Super Overencumbrance (drastic AP drain and forced slow-walk)

Don’t worry. If after a short while you find out that being a Ghoul isn’t for you, you can switch back to being human through your Character Screen. Just know, this is a one-way ticket back. You won’t be able to complete the questline to become a Ghoul again.

The Big Bloom

Spring is coming and we wanted to introduce a new themed event to match.

Introducing Black-Eyed Susan, a new friendly NPC who is sure to remind you of a grandmother. She loves flowers, floral arrangements, and totally doesn’t have a secret backstory so stop asking. Susan needs help with her latest project and luckily for her there are a bunch of Vault Dwellers who are ready and willing to help.

Black-Eyed Susan’s favorite meadow has been overtaken by strange, plant-like beasts called Overgrown making the area too dangerous for her to pick flowers. So, she needs you to head into the meadow, pick some flowers, and defeat those monsters.

Do watch out for the mines though. They’re the remnants of a previous attempt to keep those beasts out of her meadow.

Perks Catalog

The Perks Catalog is a new way of viewing and organizing your Perk card collection. It's filterable, sortable, has 2 different views, and even lets you tag specific cards for search. Check it out by opening your loadout and pressing the "All Perks" button on the left-hand side of your screen (LT on controller, M on mouse & keyboard). Let us know what you think!

Combat Balancing

Many pistols have been modified to incorporate the damage that they’d deal via perks (pre-update Gunslinger and Guerrilla) into their base damage, since those perks no-longer offer a pistol-specific increase to damage. In addition, some pistols have received a further increase to their base damage.

• Pipe Gun
• Pipe Revolver
• Pipe Bolt-Action
• Laser Gun
• Ultracite Laser Gun
• Plasma Gun
• Enclave Plasma Gun

Weapon Damage Changes

The base damage values listed here represent the weapon at its max level (45 or 50). Lower levels have been adjusted proportionally.

• 10mm: 29 -> 45
• 44 [Revolver]: 72 -> 132
• Alien Blaster: 37 -> 59
• Black Powder Pistol: 216 -> 347
• Crusader Pistol: 35 -> 56
• Circuit Breaker: 40 -> 64
• Salvaged Assaultron Head: 62 -> 95
• Western Revolver: 84 -> 157
• Gamma Gun: 60 -> 85
• Gauss Pistol: 115 -> 195
• Single Action Revolver: 82 -> 184
• Pipe Revolver: 70 -> 85

Weapon AP Cost Changes

• Pipe Gun: 21 -> 13
• Note: This weapon no longer has reduced AP cost from automatic receivers.
• 10mm: 20 -> 15
• Note: This weapon no longer has reduced AP cost from automatic receivers.
• Circuit Breaker: 20 -> 16
• 44 [Revolver]: 35 -> 20
• Alien Blaster: 20 -> 17
• Crusader Pistol: 20 -> 16
• Combat Shotgun: 35 -> 18
• Western Revolver: 35 -> 22
• Double-Barrel Shotgun: 30 -> 26
• Cold Shoulder: 30 -> 28
• Gauss Pistol: 35 -> 18
• Plasma Gun: 25 -> 16
• Enclave Plasma Gun: 25 -> 18
• Gamma Gun: 30 -> 18
• Pipe Revolver: 25 -> 16
• Gunther’s Big Iron: 35 -> 30
• Gauss Shotgun: 35 -> 24
• Laser Gun: 25 -> 16
• Pump-Action Shotgun: 35 -> 20
• Single-Action Revolver: 35 -> 24
• Ultracite Laser Gun: 25 -> 14

Weapon VATS Critical Damage Multiplier Changes

These are the base VATS critical damage multipliers for each weapon. Mods, perks, and other buffs can further increase these values.

• 10mm: 2.0 -> 2.5
• Note: Only while semi-automatic.
• Circuit Breaker: 2.0 -> 2.75
• 44 [Revolver]: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Alien Blaster: 2.0 -> 2.25
• Black Powder Pistol: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Crusader Pistol: 2.0 -> 2.5
• Single-Action Revolver: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Salvaged Assaultron Head: 2.0 -> 3.0
• Western Revolver: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Gamma Gun: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Gauss Pistol: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Pipe Bolt-Action: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Pipe Gun: 2.0 -> 2.5
• Note: Only while semi-automatic.
• Pipe Revolver: 2.0 -> 2.75

Weapon Sneak Damage Multiplier Changes

These are the base VATS critical damage multipliers for each weapon. Mods and perks can further increase these values.

• 10mm: 2.0 -> 2.5
• Alien Blaster: 2.0 -> 2.25
• Crusader Pistol: 2.0 -> 2.5
• Pipe Bolt-Action: 2.0 -> 2.75
• Pipe Gun: 2.0 -> 2.5

Legendary Mods

• Arms Keeper's
• No longer applies to grenades.
• Furious
• This effect is now considered Onslaught (+5% damage per stack, +9 max stacks) and stacks with the new Gunslinger and Guerrilla Perks.
• Onslaught description: Each consecutive hit against the same target grants a stack of Onslaught. All stacks expire once 10 seconds have passed or the player hits a new target. Players have an initial limit of 0 and can increase this through Perks and Items. The effects granted per stack can also be modified by Perks and Items.
• Onslaught is a temporary name

Power Armor

• Now grants +10 STR regardless of your current STR.
• Inspecting and previewing Power Armor now correctly shows the parts attached to it. In addition, the inspect menu now displays the contents of the chassis.

Ammo

• Plasma and Ultracite Cores now display their charge value.
• Fully charged Fusion, Plasma, and Ultracite Cores can now be placed in the Ammo Box.

Perks

• Adjusted some Perk names for better alphabetical sorting.
• Arms Keeper
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 2.
• Rank 2 increased to 75%.
• Now applies to all weapons, except grenades.
• Awareness
• New Effect: Gain more VATS accuracy based on PER.
• The effect of seeing weaknesses in VATS is now tied to having at least 10 PER.
• Barbarian
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Gain Damage Resistance based on your STR. Doubled when not wearing armor.
• Bodyguards
• Ranks reduced from 4 to 1.
• New Effect: Gain Damage & Energy Resistance based on your CHA per teammate.
• Can Do!
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Find more packaged food based on LCK.
• Concentrated Fire
• No longer grants limb targeting. This is now acquired by having at least 5 PER.
• Fixed the damage bonus not increasing per shot.
• The per shot effects are now limited to 20 stacks.
• Field Surgeon
• Moved to INT.
• Gun Fu
• Fixed an issue where Gun Fu was doing much more damage than intended.
• Increased the damage buff from 10, 30, 60 to 30, 60, 90.
• Good With Salt
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 2.
• Rank 1 now reduces spoilage by 45%.
• Rank 2 now reduces spoilage by 90%.
• Guerrilla
• New Effect: Each rank adds ranged damage to close enemies.
• Guerrilla Expert
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 2 Perk Points.
• New Effect: Gain +5% reload speed per Onslaught stack with ranged weapons, +3 max stacks.
• Guerrilla Master
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 3 Perk Points.
• New Effect: Gain +3% damage to close enemies per Onslaught stack with ranged weapons, +3 max stacks.
• Gunslinger
• New Effect: Each rank adds ranged damage to weak spots.
• Gunslinger Expert
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 2 Perk Points.
• New Effect: Gain +3% fire rate per Onslaught stack with ranged weapons, +3 max stacks.
• Gunslinger Master
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 3 Perk Points.
• New Effect: Gain +3% damage to weak spots per Onslaught stack with ranged weapons, +3 max stacks.
• Inspirational
• New Effect: You and nearby players gain more XP. This effect scales with CHA. -10 Max AP per Rank.
• Dev Note: This new effect applies to all players, not just your teammates.
• Ironclad
• New Effect: Armor provides 5% more protection per rank. Double if wearing a matching set.
• Lead Belly
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Less Rads from food & drink based on END.
• Mr. Sandman
• Removed the “at night” requirement.
• Pack Rat
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 2.
• Rank 2 increased to 75%.
• Packin’ Light
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Your Action Points regenerate faster when not encumbered.
• Pharma Farma
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Find more healing chems based on LCK.
• Portable Power
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 2.
• Moved from INT to STR.
• Rank 2 increased to 75%.
• Rad Resistant
• Ranks reduced from 4 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 2 points.
• New Effect: Gain Radiation Resistance based on your END.
• Rejuvenated
• Increased bonus at Rank 1.
• Rank 2 now has an additional bonus while not heavily irradiated.
• Scrounger
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• New Effect: Find more ammo based on LCK.
• Dev Note: All 3 “searching” Perks have a chance based on LCK to grant a bonus item in certain contexts, such as a medical box or ammo box. In addition, these Perks increase the quantity found from all regular loot sources based on LCK.
• Spiritual Healer
• New Effect: You and nearby players regenerate health. This effect scales with CHA. -10 Max AP per Rank.
• Strong Back
• Ranks reduced from 4 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 2 Perk Points.
• New Effect: Gain more carry weight based on your STR.
• Tenderizer
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Rank 1 now costs 2 points.
• New Effect: Each attack makes your target take 0.1% increased damage.
• Dev Note: Each player using Tenderizer contributes to a stacking effect that does not expire and caps out at 100% increased damage. This does not work in PvP.
• Traveling Pharmacy
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 2.
• Rank 1 increased to 45%.
• Rank 2 increased to 90%.
• Wrecking Ball
• Ranks reduced from 3 to 1.
• Moved from INT to STR.
• New Effect: You deal +100% damage to objects and can damage your own C.A.M.P. objects.

How to Participate in the PTS

All players who own a copy of Fallout 76 on Steam can participate in our PTS. Please note that progress from the PTS does not carry over into the live game. The Atomic Shop is also disabled during this testing period.

To install the PTS, open your Steam library, and install “Fallout 76 Public Test Server”.

Known Issues

Big Bloom

• Fire effects on the following weapons are not counting towards the "Set the Overgrown on fire" objective.
• Auto Axe
• Laser Gun
• Plasma Gun
• Regular Bow
• Crossbow
• Gatling Laser
• Gatling Plasma
• Anything planted in the ceramic flower pots will not be positioned correctly. expect some floating and clipping.
• Gamma Green Tea duration time is not displaying in the inspect menu.
• Some Big Bloom recipes will leave their "Crafting Item Unlocked" message on screen until relog
• You may hear music overlapping during the event.

Player Ghoul

• The ability to change back to Human from Ghoul is currently disabled.
• Debug Text is displayed in Stats window of Pip-Boy for Feral status.
• Ghoul face textures may incorrectly load after waking up during character creation.
• The "Complexion" setting is currently not changing skin textures as expected.
• Relogging may cause issues with Ghoul neck textures.
• Human characters will see a Green outline around their health bar.